Monday, July 1, 2024

Mindcrack


ORIGINS: Rose Bay, NSW
GENRE: Hardcore Punk
YEARS ACTIVE: 1992-1996
 
MEMBERS:
  • Ben Webber (Vocals)
  • Will Webber (Guitar)
  • Matt 'Branno' Branson (Drums) [1992-1995]
  • Naomi Moore (Bass) [1992-1995]
  • Mike Woody (Guitar, Backing Vocals) [1995]
  • Tobey Doctor (Drums) [1995]
  • Steve Betteridge (Bass) [1995]
  • Frankie Oberhouzer [1995]
RELEASES: 
 
  • Rose Bay Blues (recorded in 1992, released in 2022)
    • 1. Joy
    • 2. Exploitation
    • 3. Karakas
    • 4. Deceived
    • 5. Dead
    • 6. Party and Fight For Your Right
    • 7. At War With Myself
    • 8. Seed
    • 9. Joy
    • 10. Walking Along the Road

  • Crack Attack (1993) - Download Here.
    • 1. Empty Glass
    • 2. Ebola Zaire
    • 3. At War With Myself
    • 4. Unknown End 
    • 5. Seed
    • 6. My Friends Are Fighting 
    • 7. Crack Attack


  • End Australian Apartheid [Split with Subversion] (1995) - Download Here.
    • 1. Low Life
    • 2. Garzy Land
    • 3. Better Way
    • 4. Two Faced Cunts


  • The Core Sessions (1995) [Compilation]
    •  Dirty Dick
    • Plus three other songs featured on the above releases
SUMMARY: Mindcrack was a hardcore band formed by surfin' brothers Will and Ben Webber and their friends Matt Branson and Naomi Moore. The band became a mainstay on the punk scene in the early to mid-90s, and toured Melbourne and Perth. Renowned for their loose antics and energetic shows, Mindcrack underwent a lineup change in 1995 with the exit of Branson and Moore and then eventually called it a day about 8 months later.
 
SHOWS: 
 
ORAL HISTORY:
WILL: We wanted to hear noise like we loved hearing... ENT, DRI, Conflict, SOD, Exploited, Napalm, Sepultura. We were also going to see bands like Toeys, Subversion, World War 24, Persecution, etc. Mike Woody was an OG Mindcrack jammer. Pro surfer Frankie Oberhouzer was too - both jammed with the band in '92 when we were jamming at the World War 24 house in Newport. Distorted steel string semi-acoustic. 
Will Webber (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

NAOMI: I played piano from the age of 6 so I'd always had an interest in music. I started going out with Will Webber when I was 18 and kind of adopted his music taste - heavy metal, punk, etc. Will and his brother Ben, Branno, and myself travelled around Europe and America on the pro surf circuit in the '90s and when we were in LA I ended up buying a bass guitar. Will could play a bit of guitar, Branno was keen to give the drums a go, and Ben was on vocals. I don't remember when we decided to form a band - it just happened. 
Naomi Moore (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

BEN: We were motivated by alcohol, acid and boredom. Will and Matt came up with the name 'Mindcrack'... it's just a rough explanation of the mental blank that steps in from time to time from the damage of too much alcohol and acid, or not enough. Will wrote the first songs, I screamed them. I was told by Will and Matt just to say anything until I found what sounded good, then I wrote a couple of disgusting love songs. It wasn't long until we started playing shows... probably a couple of months. When we played live our songs would start and could go on lot longer than we'd planned... deep, slow-as-fuck death punk. 
Ben Webber (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
WOODY: I got the call up to play second guitar in 1995. Mindcrack were my mates but I only managed two rehearsals. I didn't have any gear or much self-belief so nothing eventuated. They definitely wanted me but I didn't think I was good enough.
Mike Woody (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 

NAOMI: We used to jam in the back shed at Will's parents' place, which had also been a surfboard ding repair shed. We had carpet on the walls to try and soundproof it a bit. I think we are lucky we didn't go up in flames with Branno smoking ciggies! 
Naomi Moore (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 

STEVE: I remember when they turned up at a Punx Picnic around '92 or '93... they asked if they could play and we all agreed. They were very surfy-looking and I was thinking: This is going to be funny! When their time came around to play, they stripped off nude and blew us all away! They were an instant hit and became one of the funnest bands to have on a bill.
Steve Betteridge (Bass, speaking about before he was in the band), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

BEN: It was very different being a part of the scene back then. Growing up as surfers from Bondi, Will and I were maniacs and we mixed well with the punk maniacs. They were different but the same, we had a lot of fund and met some absolute gems. The punk girls were really sexy - they looked awesome in their punk gear and had a good vibe. Shows that stand out in my memory include those at Feedback above the train station in Newtown - was a tiny venue with great sound. Our first gig at Selina's was good too, as was a crazy one at DeeDees where I was dressed as a woman, totally tizzed up in front of crazy Tongans and Maoris. Fucken' scary. I felt vulnerable. 
Ben Webber (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

NAOMI: Playing in Mindcrack was unreal - a lot of laughter and a lot of fights and tears. It was surreal for me. I was a clean cut Bondi girl. Long blonde hair, pretty straight-looking, and I was playing at punk fests where the other bands (and the audience) were wild, with their mohawks and faces full of metal and a sea of black denim and all sorts of ripped outfits. I was definitely the odd one out. It took a while for me to relax into it. Looking back now, I can't actually believe I did it. Really glad I did. We met so many great people. 
Naomi Moore (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
WILL: The most important thing that happened to Mindcrack was meeting the band Subversion. Amongst all the nuts in the inner city punk scene, these cunts really took a shining to us. Four of the best people I've met in my life. One of the most intimidating bands to watch live, mainly due to Chris Britten's stage presence; but all golden souls. So much so that Tobey Doctor, their drummer, booked us on all their bills, including nights with Brutal Truth and Drop Dead. But perhaps the biggest compliment to the 'Crack was that they loved us so much that they insisted on setting up on stage with us at the same time so they could play our songs! Hence, we briefly became Sub-Crack. Big Steve and Tobey inevitably went the final step and joined the 'Crack.
Will Webber, Facebook Post, 2020
 

REVIEW: One band that sticks out as a bunch of loose fuckers were Mindcrack... one of the funniest bands I've ever seen. On stage they were the real deal, playing fast almost grind-inspired punk but off the stage these guys were hilarious. Nudity, jerking off over sound desks and shitting on stage at a Slayer concert is just a very, very small snapshot of the debauchery these guys got up to. Mindcrack played a tonne of shows with Subversion, Noisam, Redstain, Playground of Hate, and Hate is Enough at a time that goes down as one of Sydney punk's drunkest eras.  
Innercity Uprising, Facebook Announcement, 2021

NAOMI: One pub gig that comes to mind was when we were playing at the Lewisham Hotel and Biohazard did a guest appearance and played a few songs. There was probably only 50 people at the gig and they were so stoked. Another time we had a party at our house in Avalon, Northern Beaches, and we had a few bands play as well as Sepultura. Those who were at our party could not believe their luck. We also played a gig at Avalon Surf Club with Dismissal, Omnicide, Subversion, and WW24 for my 23rd birthday and our good mate Age's 21st. It was out of control - probably something to do with the acid!
Naomi Moore (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

WILL: World War 24 invited us to open at Newport Market Day but the party was unceremoniously shut down after our set. The rest of the day resembled a surfy zombie coastal holocaust. It made the front page of the Manly Daily. Headlined the 'Something' Fracas. Should've been the Crackas Fracas! 
Will Webber, Facebook Post, 2020
 
NAOMI: It still blows my away that four non-technical, totally unprofessional friends could get together and create music that people seemed to like. I remember getting fan mail from young kids who were into us. If I could go back to a time in my life and revisit it, it would be the Mindcrack days.
Naomi Moore (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
MATT: Mindcrack is when you wake up in the morning with a filthy fuckin' hangover and you can't think, talk, and it feels like you've got a split down the centre of your brain! That's the theory and that's the music... The whole band contributes to writing songs - we have a song about the way we look and are betrayed by the punk scene. We don't look the part and certain crew don't think we're into it. It's not how you look, it's what you're into that counts.
Matt Branson (Drums), Fisted System, 1996
 


WILL: In 1995, Big Steve took over bass and Tobey Doctor was on the drums. We played an epic harbour cruise where a Japanese businessman, fully in suit and name tag, got on the wrong ferry and spent the day getting fully on it with some of Sydney's finest crusties and punks! Only to stumble off the ferry hours later, ears bleeding, mind blown (quite possibly tripping), to rejoin his colleagues, whose ferry docked at the same time, as if he wasn't even missed! Golden days. 
Will Webber, Facebook Post, 2020

BEN: We had no plan ever. Went to Melbourne where we played in a squat in an old building in the city and then a couple of pubs. Western Australia was fun too - we just flew and stayed at friends' houses. Nothing serious, just parting 24/7. It was so much fun to really do whatever you wanted on stage and not give a fuck about what people thought. The surf scene is full of two-faced cunts and bum slappers. The punk scene was so exciting and new. Doing it with my brother and Matt was definitely some of the best times of my life. It lasted about two years and I just got out alive with some brain cells left. The band finished when Will and I split with our girlfriends. At the time, drink and drugs were fucking with my head. I needed a break, I didn't sing in any other bands after - that was it. Two years of madness.
Ben Webber (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
REVIEW: Mindcrack were a bunch of crazy surf rats that terrorised the Sydney punk scene in the '90s, playing a tonne of shows in the northern beaches and inner city scenes... the first ever Mindcrack demo was recorded on an old school ghetto blaster but is surprisingly as good as anything released in the era. 
Innercity Uprising, Facebook Announcement, 2021

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